Conventional retractable tape measures, commonly used in the carpentry and construction industries as well as for general home repairs, include a tape with measurement markings and a housing for storing the tape. The far end of the tape is attached to retraction mechanism inside the housing, whereby the tape can be automatically retracted inside the housing for storage. Typically, such tape measures include a locking mechanism so the tape can be locked at various extended positions when in use. Also, conventional tape measures often include an attachment at the free end of the tape, including a downwardly depending tab that can be engaged with the edge of a work surface.
Sometimes it is desired to scribe or scroll a line, i.e., draw a line parallel to an edge of a workpiece such as wood, sheet rock or wallboard. This has involved several steps, such as measuring and making a number of spaced apart reference marks on the workpiece, then drawing a line along the reference marks by separate placement of a straight edge or laying and snapping of a chalk line. Alternately, one may align the housing of the tape measure with an edge of a workpiece with one hand, and hold a pencil or marker at the free end of the tape with the other hand, and then move the two ends of the tape to scroll a parallel line. However, it is difficult to hold the pencil or marker firmly in position at the end of the tape with conventional tape measures.
Additionally, many conventional tape measures are constructed such that the attachment at the free end of the tape including the downwardly depending tab partially obscures measurement markings at the end of the tape. Thus, for precise, smaller measurements (for example, measurements less than 1/2-inch), one cannot reliably use the end of the tape. Rather, one must either use a separate measuring instrument, such as a marked straight edge, or a different section of the measurement tape.
Finally, at a work site, it may become necessary to sharpen a pencil or other sharpenable marking instrument. This becomes awkward if one must interrupt the work to locate a sharpener. This becomes especially awkward if a sharpener sized to fit the marking instrument is not available.
This invention seeks to solve the aforementioned problems.